RSS, Marketing and Public Relations

While this blog is for small business and public relations, there was much in both reports that is applicable to public relations, particularly the need to adopt RSS into marketing and communications.

While you can read the executive summaries from both reports, which have great information and data points, there was one paragraph that popped out that did address public relations. From Using RSS as a Marketing Tool:

Updated information like press releases, newsletters, promotions, and even Web content benefit from RSS distribution as it reduces repeat visits to a site to see what´s changed. News stories and blog posts fall into this category, but Purina also pushes dog care content from its Web site. Companies like Apple Computer have product updates, press releases, and also the top songs downloaded on iTunes available as feeds. The biggest advantage of this type of content: It often already exists in some type of content management system, where it can be easily converted into a feed.

There is where RSS for small business makes sense. While the adoption rate for RSS and consumers is still low, the people that have adopted RSS do spend more online, and tend to be better informed. These are the target customers for any business: disposable income and well informed.

With RSS, a small business can communicate with people in a new way, in a way that is not susceptible to SPAM, in a way that has marketing and messaging opportunities. You have coupons you want to get to customers, but want to track and measure the response? You can offer a coupon and specials RSS feed on your Website. You want to make sure your newsletters are being read? You add RSS as a feed option, so people can either get the newsletters via email or via RSS.

I have worked with a company such as Nooked, that provides tools for RSS marketing made simple. What does that mean? That means with a simple addition of HTML coding to your Website, you can use the Nooked FeedWizard to turn newsletters, specials and press releases into feeds – in about three minutes.

With RSS, though, you also get more opportunities to syndicate information out to the public in search engines, helping increase traffic and notice. Part of what PR is here to do: increase exposure.